The Pain of Loving Someone
by Jamy1235
Summary: Nico had been in love with Thalia ever since he was ten years old. He had never expected her to join the Hunters of Artemis. And when she did, he felt nothing but betrayal and hurt. He went by everyday with that burden. Will Nico end up with Thalia or will she stay as a hunter? My first story on fanfiction. Rating may change at some point in the story.
1. Prologue

**Prologue/summary:**

Ever loved someone knowing that they'll never love you back? Ever felt that no matter what you did just to get their attention, they will never see it as anything more than just your idiotic way of expressing yourself? Ever went by everyday putting on a straight face, having to burden all this pain? Having to love someone that even if they loved you back, couldn't ever be with you because it was forbidden? Thats exactly how Nico Di Angelo felt about loving Thalia Grace. He went by everyday, knowing that he will never be able to bring his sister back to life because she had decided to be reborn, knowing that no matter how much he loved Thalia that she could never feel the same and they could never be together.

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Nico had developed a crush on Thalia ever since she and Percy had saved him and his sister from the manticore at West Over.

He had saw her as a beautiful punk rocker girl with spiky black hair and electrifying blue eyes.

He had tried to get to know her more when they had reached Camp Half-Blood, but she never gave him much attention. She was too preoccupied with Annabeth missing and the fact that the Hunters of Artemis were staying at camp.

He was selfish and naive at that time. He was mad that Bianca had left him for the hunters. He wanted Bianca to be there to give him guidance when he needed it most. He felt alone for the first time. He felt unwanted. Unloved.

Then Thalia passed by him and saw the pained look on his face. She felt pity for the poor little ten year old boy. She understood what it was like to feel alone and unloved. She was basically alone for quite some time before Luke had taken her under his wing, much like what he did for Annabeth. She knew how it felt to be unloved as well because of her mother. She never had anyone to look over her and made sure she was alright. The closest person she had to a parent was probably Luke and if Percy was being truthful about Luke's betrayal, than Luke was no longer part of her life anymore.

She sat down next to Nico at her own pine tree and put a comforting arm around his shoulders.

"Hey, are you alright?" She had asked him with a look of concern.

Nico looked up at Thalia, who was at least six inches taller than him, and shrugged. He could feel his heart pounding faster as every second went by.

"I'm...decent." He said quietly, hopping not to show any traces of the fact that he had been crying.

Thalia gave him a sympathetic smile and wiped away a stray tear that was slowly falling down his left cheek. She remembered having done the same thing to Annabeth when they had found her huddled next to a statue, alone and very much afraid of the strangers standing right in front of her.

"No seriously, what's wrong?"

Nico looked down at his hands and the pain that had been haunting him before came back to him.

He had looked so timid and vulnerable back then.

Thalia pulled him into a hug, letting little Nico cry on her shoulder.

When the seemingly endless droplets of tears had stopped flowing, Thalia had asked him again what was bothering him.

Nico looked down and for a second Thalia was afraid that he would break down into tears again. But instead he took a deep breath and told her exactly what was bothering him. He told her how he felt about Bianca basically leaving him and how alone and unwanted he had felt.

Thalia gave him another sympathetic look and told him that she understood how it felt to be alone and unwanted. She explained to him the struggles she had went through before reaching Camp Half-Blood.

Nico gave her his undivided attention. And for the first time in all his life, he had finally found someone, other than his sister, that actually understood him. He had felt a special connection to Thalia. And that was also the first time Nico had ever fallen for someone.

"...And that's basically my life story." Thalia concluded.

Nico looked at Thalia with a newfound understanding. He had never expected that Thalia's life would be so horrible, so full of betrayal, hurt and agony. It had never crossed his mind that Thalia would have so much pain in her past.

Every time Nico saw Thalia at camp, he had seen her as confident and intimidating, always knowing when and what to do and never regretting anything she had done. Now he knew that in all these two days he had known Thalia that her attitude was really just a facade. An act. Something she did to mask all that shes been through.

Nico surprised Thalia by giving her a meaningful hug.

Thalia stumbled back a little, but hugged him back nonetheless.

To Thalia, Nico reminded her all too well of her lost brother, Jason Grace. Nico was innocent and naive, much like Jason the last time she saw him. That was the one thing she didn't tell Nico about her life.

She couldn't bare with the fact that her mother was just so careless as to just give away her own son like that. Bad enough that her mother was unstable and was always an attention-seeking drunkard. But giving away her own son? And to Hera of all people? That was one of the many things she could never truly understand.

Another thing she could've never understand was the fact that Bianca had just deserted her brother without even giving much thought into it made Thalia's blood boil. How could she? At least she even _had_ a brother! A brother that cared so much about her and she had just left.

Thalia would've given anything to have Jason back. She would never leave Jason behind the way Bianca had to Nico.

Although to be fair, Thalia could understand that having to basically raise your little brother and having to always be the responsible one could be really tiring. And Thalia did somewhat respect Bianca for having to put up with the kid for so long.

"Thalia?" Nico asked all of a sudden.

Thalia looked down at the little kid that was still hugging her tightly as if the world was depending on it, "Yeah?"

"Promise that you won't leave me behind?"

Thalia smiled. That was the one thing she could be sure of that she would never do. "Promise."


	2. Regrets

**A/N: Thanks to everyone that followed, favorite, and reviewed this story! I really appreciate it!**

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_Thalia looked down at the little kid that was still hugging her tightly as if the world was depending on it, "Yeah?"_

_"Promise that you won't leave me behind?"_

_Thalia smiled. That was the one thing she could be sure of that she would never do. "Promise."_

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**Nico's POV **

Unfortunately, Thalia didn't keep her promise.

She joined the Hunters of Artemis as soon she was offered the position as Lieutenant, much like how Bianca had joined the Hunters to escape responsibility.

Nico couldn't blame Thalia for joining. He knew that she didn't want to be the child of the prophecy. But it still hurt to know that she had made a promise and broken it just like that.

At that time, Nico had blamed Percy for his sister's death. But what Nico wouldn't admit was that he also blamed Percy for not stopping Thalia from joining the hunt.

And at one point, Nico had even blamed himself. He wouldn't be in such a mess if he hadn't stopped his sister from joining the hunt. If only he had made it easier for Bianca to raise him. If only he could've stopped those tears from running down his face when Thalia passed by him. If he hadn't made Thalia promise him that she would never leave him behind, he wouldn't have to deal with the feeling of his heart being torn out of his chest and stomped on a hundred times.

If Nico had only one word to describe how he felt at that time, it would have been regret. Absolute regret.

**Thalia's POV **

As soon as Thalia was offered the position of being a Lieutenant of Artemis, she was overjoyed. Not because she wanted power, that was most certainly not it. She hated having special treatment just because she was Zeus' daughter. She would much prefer it to have earned her _own_ name and her _own_ title, rather than it just be given to her. That was one of the reasons she wanted to join.

Another reason she wanted to join was because she didn't want to be the child of the prophecy. She was so easily temped by the power of Kronos and she didn't like that one bit.

As Thalia was about to accept the offer, she hesitated. Something at the back of her mind was keeping her from accepting the offer.

It was the promise she had made to Nico that she would never leave him behind. At that very moment, she realized that she was caught in a very difficult position.

She couldn't just break that promise to Nico, especially after Bianca had died. He would be...she couldn't even think about it. She couldn't even imagine how upset and heartbroken he would feel.

But even if she denied the offer, where would that leave her? She would have to be the child of the prophecy and that wouldn't be a good thing. She didn't necessarily had the best of luck when it came to making tough decisions. She would eventually mess up and that could cause the end to western civilization.

No, Thalia had to take the offer no matter how selfish her reasoning may sound. She wouldn't be the child of the prophecy. She wouldn't be the cause of world destruction if she failed.

She just couldn't.

And with that, she took a deep break and accepted the offer.

As soon as the words escaped her mouth, she got a terrible gut-wrenching feeling at the pit of her stomach. A feeling that she was all too used to.

The feeling of regret.

She remembered feeling nothing but regret in one of her most prominent and painful memories. The day her mother had given Jason up to Hera. She regretted trusting her mother with Jason, even if it was only for a couple of minutes.

She still shouldn't have left Jason alone with her mother, she should have known her mother would try something like that. Her mother was always a coward. She wasn't afraid of attention, as a matter of fact her mother enjoyed every bit of attention she got. But when it came to something that would threaten her own life, well...Thalia's mother just couldn't understand sacrifice.

If you really loved someone, you would do anything for them. Even sacrifice your own life for them.

Unfortunately, Thalia's mother would much rather save her own life than her son's.

Trusting her mother was a huge mistake. Something she still regretted from this day.

And when Thalia found out her mother had unknowingly died in a car accident a couple of years after she had ran away was another regret. She regretted that she hadn't even said good-bye.

Even though her mother was selfish, unstable, untrustworthy and countless other things Thalia would've loved to call her, she was still her mother.

Thalia may not have had much respect for her, but the fact that her mother died without her even knowing it was something she definitely regretted.

She regretted the argument she had had with her mother the day before she ran away. Thalia had said some very cruel and unforgiving things to her mother that day. They were all true of course, but were still some not-very-kind-last-words to say to your mother.

Thalia also regretted trusting Luke. She would have never guested that he would betray her and Annabeth like that.

The way Luke had joined forces with Kronos-thinking that she would have wanted him to-made her sick.

And now that Thalia had joined the hunt, she regretted it. She regretted breaking her promise and leaving Nico behind.

She didn't think she would even be able to face him after he finds out that she had broken her promise.

Yep, Thalia's life was definitely full of regrets.

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**A/N: So, what do think? Its kind of sad and tragic, but the mood will change eventually. And I know this chapter is really short, but I'll have to work on making the chapters longer...**

**Oh! And it won't stay in Third person for the entire story, it might change when I'm finish writing about the past and how Nico and Thalia came to being grown ups and all that.**

**Anyways, I'd like to thank everyone for the follows, favorites and reviews!**

**Song recommendation of the day: Gone forever by Three Days Grace.**

**I absolutely LOVE that song!**


	3. Running away from your problems

**A/N: The mood of this chapter will be a bit different from the others, a little bit more action and adventure.**

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**Nico's POV: **

Nico sprinted past the streets of New Orleans, dodging past local pedestrians and tourists.

It had been three years since Bianca's death and still Nico couldn't help the fact that all those mixed emotions had resurfaced as soon as he saw _her_.

The girl Nico had crushed on for the last three years. He couldn't help it. He admired her soft, spiky black hair, her bright, electrifying blue eyes and soft, pink lips...

And yes, that girl was none other than Thalia Grace. The same girl that had left him brokenhearted three years ago. The same girl that had broken her promise to never leave him behind.

Shaking his head, Nico focused on the main problem at hand- getting away from her and the huntresses unnoticed.

He could've just as easily as shadow traveled away, but unfortunately he had drained out most of his energy from summoning all those skeletons to help him fend off Gaea's minions.

So here he was, running away like a coward from a pack of huntresses who probably hadn't even acknowledged the fact that he was here.

He kept running and accidentally pushed Thalia to the side. He wanted to apologize, but he knew that if he did, that would mean having to face her after all these years. And that was most definitely not an option.

Nico ducked behind a dark alley and started walking away slowly with his back against the wall. He felt ridiculous doing so, if Bianca was here she would have scolded him for being so stupid.

Nico sighed in relief as he sneaked a glance at the crowded streets of New Orleans and didn't find the huntresses.

He had been lucky this time. Ever since Percy had 'gone missing' a month ago, the huntresses were basically on their own, looking all over the country for Percy. And occasionally, they would run into each other, but they wouldn't have realized it until the other was long gone.

Of course, Nico had known where Percy was. He had been traveling all around the country for quite some time, so there really wasn't a single place Nico hadn't been to.

But he couldn't just volunteer the information out to anyone, even someone he trusted- not that there was anyone anymore. It was for the sake of the Great Prophecy. If he had told anyone where Percy was, that would most likely cause things to be much worse than it already is. The Greeks would put the blame on the Romans. And the Romans would think that the Greeks had put Percy in their camp as a spy to infiltrate them. In other words, it would cause complete chaos. Much better to leave things the way they are and to only interfere when things get out of control.

So for now, Nico was just going to lie low and occasionally visit each camp to see how things were going.

**Thalia's POV: **

Thalia was striding down the streets of New Orleans with the wind blowing in her hair and the sun shinning on her skin.

New Orleans was a pretty nice place to visit if she wasn't too busy worrying where the Hades Percy was.

It was like he had vanished into thin air, leaving everybody else behind, wondering where he was.

Thalia sighed. She had been through a lot of stress lately. Artemis was called back to Olympus for some unknown reason, leaving Thalia behind to lead the hunt. It wasn't really that they didn't obey her or respected her, but that they despised boys, which made looking for Percy a real pain.

Every step of the way, they would complain about having to go through all this trouble just to look for a boy. And every step of the way Thalia had to remind herself that she was in-charge of them and that she had to set an example for herself, so that she wouldn't lose her temper.

And that wasn't the only thing irritating her. It was the fact that they kept on implying that she had liked Percy to have gone through all this trouble.

That was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. Just because she didn't despise boys doesn't necessarily mean she likes them!

Had it ever crossed their minds that she was doing this for her best friend, Annabeth? Or that Percy just-so-happened to be the savior of Olympus and that without him, we wouldn't have even survived the Titan war?

Apparently not, because all through the search, they had been complaining non-stop and taking their own sweet time to reach our destinations.

It was just all too stressful and sooner or later, Thalia was going to lose her temper.

And as if that wasn't enough, she was nearly pushed into the wall of a hotel building by a boy at around thirteen with jet black hair and obsidian brown eyes. He looked very familiar, almost like someone she knew him...

No, that couldn't be it. It couldn't have been him. It had been three years since she had last officially seen him.

She had ran into him a couple of times, but had never realized it was him until it was too late. And if she did realize it was him, she would go out of her way to avoid him.

She just couldn't face him after breaking her promise to never leave him behind. She knew she would have to face him sooner or later, but she had always chosen the latter.

Unfortunately, the guy that had pushed her to the side _really_ had been Nico Di Angelo.

She saw him pushing past pedestrians and ducking into dark alleys. It appeared to her that he was avoiding someone and she had a pretty good idea who that someone was.

Her.

She was tempted to go after him and explain to him the reason she had broken her promise, but she just couldn't.

She couldn't find the courage in her to follow him.

She just stood there frozen in place for second, deciding whether or not she should have approached him.

Deciding that right now wouldn't be the best time to do so, considering the huntresses were here and that finding Percy was her number one priority right now, she swiftly turned the other direction, pretending to have seen nothing.

She hoped that she had made the right decision and that she would make things right some day. She really hoped that he would forgive her when she does happen to finally find the courage to explain herself. And not just out of guilt or pity, but because she really meant it.

"Alright everybody, I think its time for a lunch break. Maybe we should try that cafe just down the street."

And with that she started walking away with the huntresses in tow, not acknowledging the figure standing in the dark alley, watching the whole scene play out.

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**A/N: Cliffhanger! Who do think is hiding in that dark alley? What will happen next? Will they run into each other again? I want to hear your feedback on what you think of this chapter.**

**It wasn't as sad and tragic as the first two, but I kind of felt like the story needed to take a new turn of events. And trust me, things will only get even more interesting from here. I think I'll be keeping the story in third person though, it's just much easier for me to write. But I might change that if I feel that there are going to be specific parts with only a certain characters view, you'll see what I mean.**

**And I'm rambling again. Anyways, thank you all soo much for the reviews, follows and favorites! It really means a lot to me!**

**And Song recommendation of the day: Sk8er boi by Avril Lavigne.**


	4. Flashbacks and Reunions (or not)

**Nico's POV: **

Nico hid behind the wall, trying to control his breathing.

It was hard to lie to low when the person you were hiding from just-so-happened to be standing on the other side of the building.

At first he hadn't noticed she was standing there because he was in such deep thought, but when he decided it was safe to leave, he saw her standing there and quickly hid behind the wall.

He really hoped that she wouldn't notice him standing there. Zeus knows what will happen if she did!

He waited for a couple of seconds, hoping she would have left by now and surveyed the streets for any signs of Thalia or the huntresses.

He caught a glimpse of her spiky black hair and knew it was her immediately. He was confused as to why she was still standing there after what felt like forever.

She seemed to be in deep thought, still staring at the wall she was pushed into by Nico.

She seemed tense. Her electric blue eyes were glazed as if she wasn't focusing on anything in particular. Her lips formed a straight line and her eyebrows were farrowed as if she was concerned about something.

Suddenly she snapped out of her trance-like state, her eyes shone with determination and her posture perfectly straight.

She said something to the huntresses and they followed her down the street and into a nearby cafe with much more enthusiasm than they had been before.

Nico stepped out of the dark alley and watched Thalia disappear down the street.

He was really tempted to follow her, but it just wasn't that easy.

He knew that if he did follow her that all the emotions he was trying to keep bottled up wouldn't stay bottled up any longer. But then again, he shouldn't have kept his emotions bottled up in the first place. It would just lead to a disaster waiting to happen, especially to the children of Hades. Or any other children of the Big Three for that matter. They were all well known for having their emotions taking control of them at the worst of times, and with how powerful they all were... It just wouldn't end well.

Or at least, that's what Bianca had told him the last time he had seen her before she had tried for rebirth.

Just thinking about his sister caused a wave of hurt to course through his body. Even now, three years from his sisters death, he still couldn't get over the fact that she had joined the huntresses and then sacrificed her own life for Percy and all her other quest members. She had barely even said a good-bye to him before she had left for her quest in the morning that day.

Nico still missed his sister and it hurt every time to even think about her. And he knew that he shouldn't be dwelling in the past so much, but he didn't care. This was his sister- his only family- and she had chosen rebirth over another chance at life with him. He just couldn't understand why she would do that.

But at least one good thing came from all of this. Hazel Levesque, his half sister-from the Roman side of his family. She was so young when she died sacrificing her life in order to save others. She had such a good heart, she deserved a second chance at life, especially when she had given up her own chance to go to Elysium so her mother wouldn't end up in the Fields of Punishments.

_Beginning of Flashback-_

_Nico was devastated to say the least when he found out that his sister, Bianca Di Angelo, had chosen for rebirth._

_He had really wanted her to come back to the living. He needed the guidance, and although he'd never admit it, he needed some company. He felt so alone being the only child of Hades thats actually alive._

_He started making his way towards one of the exits, not feeling like he was in the mood to shadow travel, and tripped on a huge glossy black rock. Cursing himself for being so clumsy, he got up dusting himself off and found himself looking at a girl at around twelve or thirteen (he wasn't sure at that time). She had curly brown hair and kind golden eyes, something Nico had never seen before. She emanated power and some sort of warmth._

_The girl looked up at him for the first time with a kind look in her eyes. "Uh, hi?"_

_Nico responded by asking who she was. He had seldom seen anyone that was actually polite in the Fields of Asphodels unless they weren't meant to be there in the first place but was afraid of being judged. Usually these people were meant to be in Elysium._

_The girl told him her name was Hazel Levesque and to his surprise, told him that she was a child of Pluto. That had definitely caught his attention._

_A child of his father's Roman aspect? He had never met anyone like that, especially in the Fields of Asphodels. They were usually in Elysium (and no, it had nothing to do with getting special treatment from their father)._

_Nico then had asked her why she was here._

_She responded by telling him her life story of how she sacrificed her life to save others and how she gave up her chance at Elysium so that her mother wouldn't end up in the Fields of Punishments._

_Nico felt bad for the poor girl. She went through a difficult life and died at such a young age. She sacrificed a lot of things to help others and she didn't even seem to expect anything in return._

_At that moment, Nico made a decision. Hazel deserved a second chance at life and he was going to help her get it._

_End of Flashback- _

Hearing an angry growl from behind him, Nico turned around to face a harpy twice his size.

She had short glossy black hair and her wings were a dark shade of violet. Her talons were extremely sharp, much sharper than anything he had ever seen from a harpy before.

She grinned maniacally at him before lunging for his throat.

Nico, being the quick-thinker he is, took out his Stygian iron sword and dodged her. He swiped at her neck, hoping to kill her in an instant, but she was too quick.

She used her talons and swiped at his chest, leaving a nasty bloody scar under his ripped black T-shirt.

Nico looked down and saw that some of the blood had gotten on to his aviators jacket.

"Oh, come on! That was my favorite jacket!" Nico yelled out in outrage (Total Nico moment) and struck his sword right into the harpy's chest, taking in all of its life source with it and sending it back to Tartarus.

Nico dusted himself off and sheathed his sword, looking up to find the one and only...

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**A/N: I'm just going to leave it at that. I'm pretty sure at least half of you already know who it is if not more.**

**And as for how Nico met Hazel, that's just my version of how they would've met. I just wanted to put that in there.**

**Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter. Thank you all for all the favorites, follows and reviews!**

**Also, I'll try to update at least once a week!**

**P.S. I love the song 'Teenagers' by My Chemical Romance. Don't listen to the song if you don't like cursing.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you all so much for the favorites, follows and reviews! They mean a lot and I really appreciate it.**

** And the reason why I put them in different POVs even though their both in third person is because I'm writing in their prospective but in third person, kind of like what Rick Riordan did in The Heroes of Olympus.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series.**

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_"Oh, come on! That was my favorite jacket!" Nico yelled out in outrage (Total Nico moment) and struck his sword right in to the harpy's chest, taking in all of its life source with it and sending it back to Tartarus._

_Nico dusted himself off and sheathed his sword, looking up to find the one and only... _

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**Thalia's POV: **

Thalia and the huntresses entered the Cafe, most of them displaying looks of disgust as they saw a group of jocks laughing obnoxiously at a table in the middle of the Cafe.

The Cafe was pretty big with lots of space to move around with. It was painted a dark shade of chocolate brown with cream colored booths at the corners and sides of the Cafe. The light blue chairs and cinnamon tables filled the rest of the room along with various colorful paintings that Thalia could care less about . Over at one of the corners of the room was a fireplace, blazing with warmth and comfort.

Thalia felt extremely relaxed and calm for the first time since Percy had mysteriously disappeared.

Now, if only the huntresses would stop freaking complaining about the jocks at the table in the middle of the Cafe. It was getting so annoying! Whenever they even passed by a guy, the huntresses would immediately scrunch up their noses in disgust and desperately try to move away from them as if they had even done anything to them.

Thalia could understand that being a huntress meant no boys, but that doesn't necessarily mean you have to go to such measures to avoid them and act like they're a disease or something. It's just plain stupid and sometimes she wonders why she even bothers to deal with them. Then she remembers that she's no better herself. She had been avoiding Nico for the last three years. Maybe it is time to finally face him.

And with that thought in mind, Thalia leads the huntresses to sit at a booth at one of the back corners of the Cafe near the fireplace.

A girl at around fifteen with curly brown hair tied up in a ponytail and chocolate brown eyes walks over to Thalia's booth with a small notepad and pencil in one hand and a stack of menus in the other . She wore plain black jeans, a light orange shirt under a brown apron and a pair of beat-up orange hi-tops.

"Good afternoon, I'm Lexi stars and I'll be your waitress for the day. What would you like to start off with today?" The girl, Lexi, asked with a kind smile plastered on her face.

Thalia was about to answer when she was interrupted by one of the jocks who had decided that there were _much_ more excitement at the booth the huntresses were in.

He strode up to their table, making sure his sandy blond hair was covering his deep blue eyes. He was wearing a black T-shirt under his bright blue letterman jacket and a pair of jeans. He flashed the huntresses and Lexi a confident smirk and slung his arm over Lexi's shoulder. He started flirting with her, using the most cheesiest pick-up lines Thalia has ever heard.

The huntresses were basically glaring daggers at him for flirting with a girl.

It wasn't that hard to figure out what was going on through their minds. Artemis had made sure that they were taught that boys will mess with your heart and treat you like you were a discarded piece of trash. According to her, the hunt was the best way to escape this. Of course most of the huntresses would agree considering they had only joined the hunt because a boy had broken their heart.

Thalia was pretty much the only one that didn't join because of a broken heart. As a matter of fact, she only joined so she could escape the Great Prophecy. And that just left her regretting her choice of ever joining the hunt. She didn't like how all of the huntresses overreacted to guys. She didn't like having to always watch over them so that they wouldn't kill anybody by 'accident'. And most of all she regretted joining because she had broken a promise to never leave Nico behind. At that time she was sure she would never leave him and that she would definitely be able to keep the promise, but things change. She decided she was too easily tempted by Kronos, she decided that joining the hunt may be her only escape from the prophecy and so she took the first opportunity she could get to escape the Great prophecy. And as soon as she had accepted the offer, she had regretted it ever since.

The sounds of an angry monster-like growl coming from outside interrupted her train of thought.

She quickly gave the huntresses a signal that meant that she would be right back and ran out of the Cafe through the front entrance doors.

The sight she saw when she got outside was definitely not what she expected to see.

What she expected to see was a monster. She got that part. But what she didn't expect to see was Nico Di Angelo fighting that particular monster.

Thalia froze in place, not sure whether she should just let Nico handle it himself or if she should help him. He seemed to be handling things just fine with the way things were going right now. Thalia had to admit that this kid was for sure a skilled fighter. He was definitely well-trained with the way he dodged those attacks.

With that thought in mind, Thalia had decided to just let him handle it on his own, he seemed to be doing pretty well.

But at that very moment, Nico had already killed the harpy and he was looking right at her.

Thalia stood there in shock. This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to see him again until she found Percy and everything was settled down. This wasn't what she had planned for them to meet again. She wasn't ready to face him yet. None of this was supposed to happen!

She didn't expect to see him again this soon. She thought it would take maybe another... two years for her to ever see him again. She thought he had already left.

Apparently, she was wrong because here he was.

Now that she had a closer look at him, she noticed that he had changed a lot since the last time she had saw him- which was six months ago in Colorado. He had grown taller, at least by a couple more inches. His hair was longer, but it was still shaggy. His dark brown eyes seemed to be even darker, almost black. He wasn't as scrawny as he was when he was ten years old, he had actually gained some muscle.

If Thalia could say anything about his appearance without worrying about Artemis kicking her out of the hunt or blasting her to shreds, she would say that he looked_ kind of_ attractive for a thirteen year old. Especially with all the black clothes he wore, it really suited him. And for some strange reason she could feel her heart pounding faster as he looked right back at her in shock and disbelief.

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**Nico's POV:**

Nico unsheathed his sword and stared at Thalia as if he couldn't believe she was here.

Which was true, he hadn't expected for them to meet again- or at least not this soon.

Now that he had a closer look at her he could see that she was staring right back at him with a look of shock clearly shown on her face. Obviously she hadn't expected for them to meet up as well.

He could see her brilliant electric blue eyes focused on him. Her hair was still spiky after all these years. And he noted that he was almost as tall as her, just a few more inches to go.

They stared at each other for what felt like eternity for the both of them until Thalia broke it off.

"Nico?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yep, that would be me." He replied, avoiding her eyes.

He still remembered that promise she had broken and even though children of Hades weren't supposed hold grudges, a part of him still resented her for that. The other part was still a little heartbroken and regretful.

"Wow, you've grown so much. I still remembered you being way shorter."

He just nodded in response, not knowing what to say until a thought came to mind.

"Wait, were you standing there the entire time I was fighting the harpy?" Nico asked.

"I- uh..." She looked down, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably. "Yeah."

"Then, why didn't you help me?"

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**A/N: So, what do you think?**

**Song: Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis. I love this song but I usual listen to a cover of this song.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks to all the favorites, follows and reviews. **

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_"Wait, were you standing there the entire time I was fighting the harpy?" Nico asked._

_"I- uh..." She looked down, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably. "Yeah."_

_"Then, why didn't you help me?"_

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**Thalia's POV: **

"Then why didn't you help me?"

As soon as Nico had asked Thalia that, She was at a lost of words. She didn't know how to answer to that. She didn't even think that she could answer that.

_Why didn't she help him?_

She couldn't just tell him that she was too afraid to confront him after three years- NO! That is definitely not something a Lieutenant of Artemis is suppose to say. She could get kicked out of the hunt if Artemis had heard her say that. And that was definitely not an option because no matter how annoying the huntresses could get, they were her only family.

And she also couldn't just tell him that she was afraid that he would hate her for breaking her promise. That might make things worse.

With that thought in mind, she decided to take the safer way. "I figured you could handle it yourself."

Nico just stared at her in disbelief before turning around to leave.

"You could've still helped." He mumbled angrily to himself.

This made Thalia a little bit upset. She could feel the blood rushing to her head as she began to process what he had just said. He did _not_ just say that, she thought to herself. He did _not_ just accuse her of not helping him. He did _not_ just call her inconsiderate. (He may not have said it, but that was what he was basically implying in that statement.)

"Well, excuse me for letting you handle something **on your** **own**!"

He stopped in his tracks and turned back around.

At this point, Thalia could tell she had hit a nerve, but she wasn't sure what she had hit.

"SOMETHING ON MY OWN?! YOU THINK THAT I CAN'T DO ANYTHING ON MY OWN?! HOW ABOUT YOU? YOU JUST BECAME A HUNTRESS TO ESCAPE YOUR LIFE. WHAT? YOU COULDN'T HANDLE YOUR OWN LIFE OR DID YOU JUST WANT MORE POWER?"

This made Thalia just about explode. As a matter of fact, she could feel the sparks of electricity on her fingertips.

How dare he say that to her! Sure, she didn't help, but he was going too far. He had just insulted her and accused her of joining the huntresses just to escape her life. _And_ he had called her power hungry. He was just going too far!

"YOU-" She was just about to curse him out with the long string of colorful words she had learned from her "dear mother" at the young age of three when the huntresses had came out of the restaurant to see what was taking so long.

They took one look at Nico and readied their bows, waiting for Thalia's command to shoot.

"Shall we shoot him, Lieutenant Thalia?" Alayla, one of the newer recruits, asked Thalia.

Before she could answer, Nico decided to speak up. "And you accuse me of not being able to do anything on my own? You need a pack of huntresses to do your dirty work for you!"

That stung. It really did. Yet, at the same time, it fed to her adrenaline rush. It made her angrier. She could feel large amounts of electricity coursing through her, ready to strike him down at any moment.

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**Nico's POV: **

As soon as she had said the words "on your own", Nico froze.

Did she really think that he couldn't handle myself? Was he still the little ten year old to her?

He hated it when people treated him like that. Like he was still a little kid who needed help with everything. It made him feel like even more of an outcast. It made him feel like everyone was looking down on him. And being a child of Hades, that's what he usually gets. People only respected him out of fear and he was pretty much used to it.

But hearing that come out of Thalia's mouth,_ the_ Thalia that he had a crush on for the last three years, made him snap. He usually wouldn't care what other people think of him but with Thalia, that kind of changes.

He felt heartbroken all over again. He knew he couldn't have Thalia because she was a huntress. He knew he couldn't have her because of the age differences. He knew he couldn't have her because Zeus and Hades will most likely not allow it and separate them. But he only just realized that now. And that just made his heart shatter to pieces and he finally snapped.

But for the wrong reasons and on the wrong person...

"SOMETHING ON MY OWN?! YOU THINK THAT I CAN'T DO ANYTHING ON MY OWN?! HOW ABOUT YOU? YOU JUST BECAME A HUNTRESS TO ESCAPE YOUR LIFE. WHAT? YOU COULDN'T HANDLE YOUR OWN LIFE OR DID YOU JUST WANT MORE POWER?"

He knew that he would regret saying those words as soon as he calmed down and realized what he had just said, but right now he was angry and he was seeing red. Of course most of the things he said were false, but when your angry and you get that adrenaline rush, you just can't control yourself.

He could see the electric sparks charging up on Thalia's finger tips and he could tell she was angry at him.

"YOU-" Nico could obviously tell that she had more to say but she was interrupted when the huntresses came out of the Cafe.

As soon as they saw him, they readied their bows to shoot. One of them asked Thalia if they had permission to shoot.

That had only made him angrier.

He couldn't believe that this was the girl that he had liked for so long. He couldn't believe she had turned into _this_. So, she was just another one of _them_, he should have known.

"And you accuse me of not being able to do anything on my own? You need a pack of huntresses to do your dirty work for you!"

He saw Thalia raise her hands, ready to strike him with no-doubt a high voltage lightning bolt, but he had shadow traveled one minute before she could get him.

Before he had completely disappeared into the shadows, he could see a tear roll down Thalia's cheek.

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**A/N: What do you think? Good? Bad? Terrible? I want to hear your opinions.**

**And don't worry, there will be some Thalico in future chapters but I had to put in a fight scene to bridge in the gap for when they meet again at the same age... You'll see...**

**Anyways, sorry I didn't update last week like I promised, I just couldn't figure out how to do the fight scene.**

**Song recommendation of the day: "On my own" by Three days Grace  (Anyone caught what I did there?)**


	7. Chapter 7: Moving on?

**A/N: Thanks to everyone that Favorite, followed and/or reviewed! It means a lot and I really appreciate it!**

**Also, I am extremely sorry for not updating sooner, I've been caught up with my grades, the EOC and some other personal things.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Percy Jackson series!**

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_"And you accuse me of not being able to do anything on my own? You need a pack of huntresses to do your dirty work for you!"_

_He saw Thalia raise her hands, ready to strike him with no-doubt a high voltage lightning bolt, but he had shadow traveled one minute before she could get him._

_Before he had completely disappeared into the shadows, he could see a tear roll down Thalia's cheek. _

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**Nico's POV: **

Nico was now sitting on jagged rock at the edge of the River Lithe, thinking about the argument he had had with Thalia a couple days ago.

Now that his anger had fully and completely cooled down, he had started to realize all the hurtful things he had said to Thalia. He didn't mean them and he knew full well that they weren't true. Thalia didn't join the hunt to escape her life, she joined it to escape the Great Prophecy. And she didn't join because she wanted more power, she was actually afraid of what would happen if she was tempted again. And she could definitely handle her own life. She was brave, confident and knew what she was doing...She had pretty much all the characteristics that Nico loved.

Thinking back on it more, Nico started to _really_ regret everything he had said. He didn't mean it of course, he had only said it out of anger. And Thalia basically implied that he couldn't handle anything on his own, that had really gotten to him. It struck a nerve. It reminded him of how alone he was. Sure, he had Hazel, but now that Percy has arrived at Camp Jupiter, Nico can't really go there for a visit. And Bianca isn't around to give him guidance anymore.

Gods he felt so alone and stupid right now! He felt like jumping into the River Lithe to forget all this had ever happened. If only he could go back in time to stop himself from being so ignorant. He had really liked Thalia and with everything he said a couple days ago, he knew she would never forgive him.

Forget ever even having a chance with her- he knew that was never going to happen, she's a huntress and sworn off men. And even if she wasn't a huntress, she'd still be years older than him. All he cared about right now was whether or not she'd forgive him (that and the threat of the Giants looming over everyone's head, but this is a crisis here!). He just wanted things to go back to normal where they would occasionally bump into each other and he'd get a chance to see her without having to talk to her.

He messed up big time and he knew it, he thought to himself as he got up from the rock to continue what he was doing before he bumped into Thalia- finding the doors of death.

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**Thalia's POV:**

Thalia wasn't the kind of girl to ever cry over something someone had ever said to her- nor did she ever even care. But for some odd reason, she could feel tears slowly flowing down her face. The words Nico had said had really hurt her.

Did he really think she was power hungry and used others to do her work for her? He obviously did and for some reason, she just couldn't get that thought out of her mind. It bothered her that even though she usually didn't care what others thought of her, she did now. And the weirdest thing? This was the first time in years since she even started caring and that was only when Nico had started to call her power-hungry and-

She shook her head, why did she even care? Why is she even obsessing over this? It's not like she cared that much... Right?

_No_, of course she _didn't_ care. Thalia wasn't used to caring about the little things that people called her, it wasn't important enough and she had other things to worry about.

She needed to forget what he said and move on. Percy needs to be found and whatever that's going on right now needs to be put to a stop.

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**A/N: I am so sorry for not updating sooner and for the short chapter! I can promise you the next chapter will be longer.**

**Song recommendation: by The vacation song Shane Dawson**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thanks to all that has favorite, followed, and reviewed. You don't know how much it means to me to have amazing supporters like you. I'm also very sorry that I hadn't posted anything in so long. I kind of had writers block and I wasn't able to go on the computer. I also got sick multiple times over the summer.**

**WichesBrew2: Of course not, I'm not planning on abandoning this story anytime soon. Also thanks and I'll try to update more considering the school year has started and I should, hopefully be on the computer more if I don't have too much to do.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Percy Jackson series and Heroes of Olympus series.**

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**Two years later:**

It has been almost two years since the Giant War was won by the Demigods of both Roman and Greek. Everything had settled down and the two camps had called a truce and there is hardly ever any disputes between the the two. The monster attacks had died down but there are still monsters running free and reforming.

Percy and Annabeth are inseparable and have been dating for four years now. They have moved on and have gone to college with Annabeth majoring in architecture and Percy with Marine Biology. They visit Camp Half-Blood every summer to teach sword fighting and Greek.

Piper and Jason had broken up sometime over the last year due to their rocky relationship after the war.

Reyna is still Praetor of New Rome and Octavian is still the crazy and Greek-hating augur.

Hazel and Frank are still together and happy. They now live in New Rome together and occasionally visit Camp Half-Blood.

Leo is, unfortunately, still alone and still blames himself for everything thats gone wrong in the Argo ll. He spends most nights in Bunker 9 trying to re-build Festus.

Thalia and Nico hadn't seen nor talked to each other since what happened two years ago.

Nico is still upset with Bianca choosing to try for rebirth. He still feels lonely most of the times and is still regretful from what he said to Thalia the last time he saw her. He lives in Camp Half-blood during spring and summer to get away from Persephone. In the winter and fall months, he lives in the Underworld and helps keeps the Underworld in order along with his father.

Thalia is still the Lieutenant of Artemis. She is starting to doubt her position in the hunt as she only joined to escape the prophecy a while back and now that all the fights and wars had died down, she is starting to consider what Nico had said to her two years ago. She still remembers every word and the argument is constantly being played in her head whenever she sees anything that reminds her of Nico.

She looks at everyone who is in the hunt differently now too. She doesn't see them as a pack of strong girls willing to join the cause, but as a bunch of girls escaping something from their past- namely bad experiences in the love department.

She is starting to get really sick of the dirty looks the huntresses give her whenever she starts socializing to guys or girls in relationships _with_ guys. She isn't so sure whether it is actually worth it to stay in the hunt or not. She's finally starting to realize how bratty and whiny these girls could be.

Maybe she could talk to Artemis about quiting...

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**A/N: Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, this is just a filler for the next part.**

**Song recommendation: Solar flares by The Ready Set**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, follows, favorites, PMs and anything else ;) It's always nice to hear your opinions on things. And I can assure everyone that things will get interesting... I love to make things different than most stories I read about, just a warning. Not everything will happen as you think it would.**

**Also I'm sorry if this is out of character and kind of dull. I just came home from my third week of high school and I'm really tired and stressed out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

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**Thalia's POV: **

Thalia had been anxious to confront Artemis all week long. She was afraid of what Artemis would say about her quiting. Or much rather, her reaction.

Thalia knew all about Artemis' love of turning men into animals. She was pretty scared to find out what Artemis would do to her if she found out that her lieutenant, the supposed role model of the huntresses, decided she wanted out. She was terrified, even though she hardly showed it.

And whenever she mustered enough courage to actually confront Artemis, she finds that it's the wrong time to do so.

It's been going on like this for the past week and the following week.

The other huntresses are already picking up on her odd behavior, she's sure of that. They are all like emotional bloodhounds even though they don't usually show it. She's often wondering whether or not, Artemis had noticed or not.

Aside from her obvious worries, Thalia and the huntresses all have to go to camp half-blood soon because Artemis is called up to Olympus for an important meeting. Something about maximizing Tartarus' security and not allowing any ancient beasts from even thinking about escaping.

Anyways, she needs to make sure she tells Artemis soon because she already knows that Nico will be there and she doesn't want to face him. But thats not the main reason she wants to quit... It definitely has nothing to do with _him_. No, of course not! It has everything to do with the wars being over and the annoying, winy girls in the hunt. _Yeah, that's it for sure..._

Thalia sighed, she is having way too much stress than she can handle. Maybe after she quits and actually makes it out alive, she should try some of those stress-relieving methods Annabeth's been talking about every time she sees her.

_**Two days later...** _

It's been two days and Thalia still hadn't found the right time to tell Artemis that she wants to quit. She is really doubting that she'll ever get a chance to get out of the hunt. And it's already too late to quit before going to camp, because today is the day!

She really hopes she won't run into Nico. She doesn't want to face him. Not now, not ever. It was really hurtful what he said and she still isn't ready to forgive him. And she highly doubts, he regrets what he said, so there is not chance that they are going to be more than just enemies. **(Or is there...)**

She put the last piece of clothing in her duffel bag and began to take down the tent.

Apollo would be here soon, meaning that she would have to leave for camp soon. Hopefully, he'll arrive late like he always does that way she will have more time to think of ways to avoid Nico without the sun god flirting with her and offering her driving lessons.

She shuttered. No need to think about that and Psych herself out even more.

"Lieutenant Thalia?" A voice spoke from behind her.

Thalia turned around, only to see Sapphire, the newest recruit.

"Yes?"

"Lord Apollo has arrived and Lady Artemis wishes to speak to you."

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**Nico's POV: **

Nico didn't necessarily hate camp. He just hated being alone and having nobody of similar interests to talk to. He didn't have any half-siblings like everybody else at camp.

He would've had Percy and Annabeth, but they were in college, pursuing a normal life as responsible adults.

_Yeah right_, more like Annabeth is the responsible adult. Percy needs her to function properly or else he'd be completely lost.

Thinking about the two love birds always makes him wonder when he'll ever have something like that. Even Frank and Hazel are happy together. They hardly get into any fights with each other and he swears that Aphrodite probably blessed them because they always seem to be so happy together.

He wished he had something even remotely close to that. But he knew that that would probably not happen. At least, not with who he had in mind.

He knew for a fact that she was completely off limits. And even if she wasn't, she would probably hate his guts. Actually, she does hate his guts, he was sure of it. He didn't blame her for that, he knew it was his own fault.

It would be a miracle for him to be on good terms with her without him screwing up again.

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**A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it. By the way, how many of you guys actually check out the song recommendations? Just curious...**

**Song recommendation: **

** "_Shes staring me down with those electric eyes,_**

**_ No matter how hard I try._**

**_ I can't escape that gaze tonight._**

**_ Shes way up in the atmosphere."_**

** -Lightning by Alex Goot**


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